Monthly Archives: September 2011

This is spirit week at my school. The theme for Homecoming this year is “Chargers and the Chocolate Factory,” so the kids have had Willy Wonka themed outfits all week. Today was “Dress like little kid” day. This meant that I spent the day teaching sixteen-year-olds in footie pajamas. I tried not to judge them.

I told my students today that “I’m standing here solidly on my own two hands going crazy.” Their response? “Uh, Miss H, you’re standing on your feet.” I rolled my eyes and did not tell them to go watch one of my favorite movies of all time.

I need to grade at least nine papers tonight. Woot.

I’m drinking hazelnut black tea from a Jane Austen mug from this Etsy shop. Never be afraid to buy me Christmas or birthday gifts from there. Never.

Tomorrow, this amazing woman, Josephine, will be eighty-eight years old.

She was born in Detroit in 1923, the third of six children. She lived through the Great Depression, found a job in Detroit, and worked there until she got married. In 1949, she married an amazing man named Richard. They have four wonderful children and five pretty great grandchildren together.

She has lived an amazing life. She took care of her mother and her mother-in-law when they were elderly. She tells stories about, as a young woman, going downtown to Hudson’s to buy her silverware piece by piece, a new piece every week. After her husband (and my grandpa) retired from Ford, they traveled-went on cruises, visited relatives in Italy, went to Greece, etc. Every February, they went to Florida together-and one year, I visited them down there for a few days.

And then, when her husband’s health began to decline, she took care of him. It hasn’t been easy for her, but she has stayed there with him through thick and thin. She still is right next to him, holding steady as they go through his last days on earth.

Last night, she told me, “Marry someone who makes you happy. Look at me. I’ve been married for sixty-two and a half years. And well, it’s been mostly good.”

I hope I can say that when I’ve been married for 62 years. And I hope that I can also say, “I’ve got all my children here with me. I don’t need to worry.”

She is a renowned worrywart, but every now and then, we have those kind of moments. And through thick and thin, I love her. I’m so grateful to her for all the love she has given me and all the lessons she has taught me.

So Happy Birthday to the dearest grandma ever…and may God keep you safe, healthy, and happy for many more years to come.

This past Monday I had the incredibly humbling experience of guiding an extraordinary young man who happens to be blind from the school gym back to our classroom. Superficially, all I had to do was walk with him and tell him when to turn. But internally, it was a lesson for me in how easy my life is. I can see where I’m going. This young man can’t. He relies on his cane, his memory, and other people to steer him in the right direction. I’m in awe of him.

Tuesday, I went to a nearby yarn shop to have some previously purchased yarn wound into balls. I ended up buying a skein of lace yarn that I’m planning on using for Momsy’s Christmas present, which is a new design I’m creating, and then I found six skeins of pink wool in the clearance bin for $2.50 each. Umm, I bought them to make Jenny Pink a sweater; it seemed only natural.

I was lead teacher all week. Now, I have grading to do. It was difficult but so good for me. I love being a teacher.

I finished the back of the Brennan cardigan a few days ago and now I’m working on a sleeve. The back was a doozy and I need a break before I dive in to doing a front. But after this sleeve, I’ll make the right front, then another sleeve, and then the left front. And then I’ll put it all together.

I have grading to do and knitting to do this weekend…and a family wedding to attend. Here’s to the good life!

You need to do your grading. I know you want to spend the day browsing Ravelry and knitting. And I’m thrilled that you have your Brennan-cardigan-mojo back. I’m equally thrilled that you’re loving the chevron pattern on the same so much.

But regardless, you have to do your grading. You can knit more after you get some grading done.

So stop blogging. Stop fiddling around Rav. Make yourself a mug of tea and start grading.

Today was my first of student teaching. I’ll be spending the next three months at LCHS, a school of 1800+ students in suburban America. I’ll be working with Mr. O and teaching two junior literature courses-three sections of one and two of the other.

I didn’t teach today. I set up seating charts and finalized the attendance records in the computer. I watched Mr. O go over the rules of the classroom. I ate lunch with the other English teachers. I talked to Mr. O about what I’ll be doing in the future.

In short, I didn’t do much. But regardless, I’m exhausted. I know that some of this is emotional, and some of it is my body’s struggle to adapt to an entirely new sleep schedule. But it’s still rough. It’s still hard to look at the clock and see that it’s only four-thirty, but I’m still dead tired as if it were more like nine-thirty.

I know that this is a transition for me. And I know that in time I’ll grow more accustomed to my schedule. In time, I’ll learn all of my students’ names. In time, this will all be easier.

But right now, it’s rough. And all I’m running on is sugar, caffeine, and grace.